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Chapter 27
Previous Chapter Roland stroked his chin. "Organization MERLIN ain' something ter be trifled with. I don' know too much abou' them, bein' a secret organization an' all. The only information I have is tha' they have people in high places." Carter raised his nose. "I ''could've told you that. That's why I'm having my own investigation." Roland smirked at Carter. "An' I'm sure yeh know that they abduct people with abilities, righ'? Well it seems like they 'ave a preference of sorts." Marcus perked up at the news. "What do you mean, a preference?" asked Marcus. "Marcus, yeh know I keep an eye ou' for our kind," said Roland. "I've noticed fer some reason, a disproportionate amoun' of lightnin' users are targeted." "Lightning users? But why?" asked Marcus. Roland shrugged his massive shoulders. "I don' know. They abduct others too, so it's not like non-lightnin' users are safe." Roland gestured towards the right, and Marcus and Carter turned to looked at a table. A man was sitting alone at a small booth, hunched over his drink. He had a desolate expression on his face and was staring blankly at his glass. "He's an ol' friend o' mine," said Roland, shaking his head sadly. "His son Joey had water abilities, an' he's gone missin' for a few days now. I haven' told him anything, but I think MERLIN has it's hands in this. "Maybe they're tryin' tet conquer the world, or maybe they wan' ter create a master race of people with abilities. I can only guess wha' MERLIN is tryin' ter do." The three men turned their heads towards the front door, as it had just opened. A tall man, draped in a dark cloak and wearing a wicked smirk on his face, made his way towards the bar table. "'Scuze me gents," said Roland in a low voice so only Marcus and Carter could hear. "I got some business firs'." The cloaked man approached the table, rudely making his way in between Marcus and Carter as if he didn't even see them. "Wha' do yeh want?" asked Roland gruffly. "Worth came here for business," said the man coldly. He reached inside and pulled out a black card from his tunic. He dropped it onto the counter, and Marcus saw that it read "Monochrome, Chief Executive Officer of Antiquities Xtraordinaire Corporation" printed neatly in white. He glanced from the corner of his eye that Carter made a face like he recognized the name. Roland slid the card towards him with his massive finger. "Worth, yeh say yer name was?" He reached below the table and pulled out a plain manila folder. He passed it to Worth, who snatched it and placed the folder inside his cloak. Then Worth turned around, his cloak swaying behind him, and left through the front door. Carter turned to look at Roland. "What the heck was that all about?" asked Carter accusingly. Roland shook his great shoulders. "It ain' nothin', jus' givin' our folk some, eh, employment options," he said with a smirk. Then his expression became serious again. "Now back ter MERLIN, the only other info I got abou' them is tha' they have a base in the city. E'er heard of HaleLabs?" Marcus shook his head, but Carter nodded his. "Yeah, it's a subsidiary of HaleCorp, located close by to the beach here," said Carter. "They do research and development on new technologies there." "Well then what yeh don' know is that they also research people like us," said Roland. "People with abilities. They are also tryin' ter develop technologies ter locate us as well." "They do what?!" exclaimed Marcus. "Not ter worry," said Roland, noticing Marcus sweating. "They're hilarious'y behind from makin' any kind of breakthrough." Carter stroked the underside of his chin. "And how do you know that?" asked Carter. "My sources are very reliable," said Roland, grinning. "I suspec' there's still a MERLIN agent amon' them, feedin' them information." "So what, Blanco? Are you saying we should infiltrate HaleLabs?" asked Marcus. "Well they migh' have secret files abou' MERLIN there, or maybe you can find the agent there. But that's all I can tell yeh," said Roland, dusting off his hands. "The deal is complete." * * * Marcus and Carter stepped back outside into the red glow of the Eye of the Storm's neon sign. "Will you join me, Marcus?" asked Carter, turning to him. "MERLIN has their eyes on you. They know where you live, and they know what you look like. It'll be difficult living by yourself now." Marcus nodded, taking Carter's words into consideration. "You can join my team, if you'd like," said Carter. "You can help be an extra set of eyes and hands in our investigation." All Marcus wanted was to be left alone, but it would be impossible to live in solitude anymore with MERLIN constantly trying to abduct him. "Deal," said Marcus. He extended his hand, and Carter shook on it. "I can be on a team for a bit if it means getting this crazy organization off my trail and being on my own again." Carter nodded. "Good," he said. "I think it'd be good if you were to meet one of my team members, she's–''" Carter stopped, remembering Worth and the manila folder. "Marcus, what do you know about that 'business' deal that Roland was talking about?" asked Carter. "Well I don't know too much, but Roland is a go-to guy to get some odd jobs. I guess someone is using him as a third party. You know something about this Monochrome person?" "Yeah, I'm actually having one of my agents keeping her eye on him. I suspect he might have some kind of connection with Organization MERLIN," said Carter. "And in the meantime, I might have to also investigate HaleCorp, if what Roland says is true." Carter reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small, silver coin from his pocket. "Here, take this." He dropped it into Marcus's open hand. "What's this for, the bus ride home?" asked Marcus. "What? No! It's a communicator device," said Carter. "You wear it in your ear, and you'll be able to contact me when you press on it." Marcus pressed on the face of the device, and he could hear a faint beep. "Speaking of home, by the way," said Carter. "Now that MERLIN knows where you live, you can't exactly stay there anymore." Marcus stopped, the realization dawning on him. "What am I supposed to do? I can't get a hotel room because I don't have a credit or checking account anymore. And it's not like a hotel is the safest place either." "You could stay in one of the safe houses I have in the city," said Carter. "It'll have food and water and everything there." Marcus nodded in agreement. It seemed like a much better idea, and Carter was definitely someone he could trust. "Alright, just lead the way." Next Chapter